I mean, that’s literally almost the definition of Kickstarter:
When you back a project, you’re supporting a creator’s right to try to make something new—and agreeing to go along for the ride. For more information, please read our Terms of Use.
*What are creators obligated to do? *
When a project is successfully funded, the creator is responsible for completing the project and fulfilling each reward to the best of their abilities. Their fundamental obligation to backers is to finish all the work that was promised, honestly address backers’ concerns, and deliver rewards.
There’s certainly an ethical side that says making a flashy video that you have no intent to ever create could be considered a scam, but if it looks like they made a good-faith effort and just couldn’t get it done as well as they thought they could, well, that’s pretty much what Kickstarter is.
Nowdays, I think KS has much more of a ‘store’ vibe to it, but I remember how it was back in ~2012, and it was very much “Hey I made this thing in my garage and I think it could be great but I don’t have any money to scale; back me and I’ll eventually send you one.” Now it’s definitely more of a store than it used to be, and I don’t love it when pre-existing companies basically use it as a guaranteed pre-order machine, but at it’s core, if someone tries to make a product and just ultimately fails, well, that’s Kickstarter.
Here’s specifically what Kickstarter expects of both parties:
Throughout the process, creators owe their backers a high standard of effort, honest communication, and a dedication to bringing the project to life. At the same time, backers must understand that they’re not buying something when they back a project—they’re helping to create something new, not ordering something that already exists. There may be changes or delays, and there’s a chance something could happen that prevents the creator from being able to finish the project as promised.
If a creator is unable to complete their project and fulfill rewards, they’ve failed to live up to the basic obligations of this agreement. To right this, they must make every reasonable effort to find another way of bringing the project to the best possible conclusion for backers. A creator in this position has only remedied the situation and met their obligations to backers if:
- they post an update that explains what work has been done, how funds were used, and what prevents them from finishing the project as planned;
- they work diligently and in good faith to bring the project to the best possible conclusion in a timeframe that’s communicated to backers;
- they’re able to demonstrate that they’ve used funds appropriately and made every reasonable effort to complete the project as promised;
- they’ve been honest, and have made no material misrepresentations in their communication to backers; and
- they offer to return any remaining funds to backers who have not received their reward (in proportion to the amounts pledged), or else explain how those funds will be used to complete the project in some alternate form.
The creator is solely responsible for fulfilling the promises made in their project. If they’re unable to satisfy the terms of this agreement, they may be subject to legal action by backers.